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Ellen Bethea and her great-grandson, Lucas, look at a painting of her late husband, Archie. Laura Heald for NPR hide caption

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Laura Heald for NPR

NPR News Investigations

A Funeral May Cost You Thousands Less Just By Crossing The Street

An NPR investigation finds the death care industry can often be confusing and unhelpful to consumers who must make high-priced decisions at a time of grief and financial stress.

A Funeral May Cost You Thousands Less Just By Crossing The Street

Audio will be available later today.

The hemoglobin A1C test for blood sugar, a standard assay for diabetes, may not perform as well in people with sickle cell trait, a study finds. fotostorm/Getty Images/iStockphoto hide caption

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fotostorm/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Shots - Health News

Common Blood Sugar Test May Be Less Accurate In African-Americans

People with sickle cell trait, which includes about 10 percent of African-Americans, can get higher readings on the A1C blood glucose test. That could lead to diabetes treatment they don't need.

Thousands gather at Denver's City Center Park for a rally in support of the Muslim community and to protest President Donald Trump's executive order to temporarily ban some refugees from seven mostly Muslim countries, in Denver, Colo., on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017. Brennan Linsley/AP hide caption

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Brennan Linsley/AP

Commentary

What If 'Something Happens' After Judge's Ruling On Trump's Travel Ban?

President Trump has said on Twitter that any terrorist attack would be the fault of the federal judge who ruled against the government. But history and the law suggest otherwise.

Palestinian laborers work at a construction site in a new housing project in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim on Tuesday, after Israel's parliament approved a law that retroactively legalizes thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land. Oded Balilty/AP hide caption

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Oded Balilty/AP

The Two-Way - News Blog

Israel Passes Law Retroactively Legalizing Settler Homes On Palestinian Land

The law voted on by Israel's parliament legalizes almost 4,000 unauthorized homes on private Palestinian land in the West Bank. Critics say the move is a massive blow to any future peace deal.

Comedian Irwin Corey was known for his long-running act as "The World's Foremost Authority." He is pictured here in the 1970s. Corey died at the age of 102. ABC/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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ABC/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The Two-Way - News Blog

The World's Foremost Authority Has Died: Prof. Irwin Corey Was 102

Who else could have appeared in the 1976 film Car Wash — and also accept a National Book Award on behalf of the reclusive Thomas Pynchon?

The World's Foremost Authority Has Died: Prof. Irwin Corey Was 102

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Joseph Funn experienced homelessness for almost 20 years, until he moved into an apartment in December. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption

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Meredith Rizzo/NPR

Shots - Health News

Obamacare Helped The Homeless, Who Now Worry About Coverage Repeal

Among those who benefited from Obamacare are many homeless people who were able to get Medicaid for the first time. Some are worried about what a repeal of the Affordable Care Act could mean.

Obamacare Helped The Homeless, Who Now Worry About Coverage Repeal

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Residents and reporters follow Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the first Christian, ethnic Chinese governor of Jakarta, as he campaigns for election in an East Jakarta neighborhood. Yosef Riadi for NPR hide caption

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Yosef Riadi for NPR

Parallels - World News

Facing Blasphemy Charges, Indonesian Politician 'Happy That History Chose Me'

The case against Jakarta's Christian, ethnic Chinese governor has raised serious concerns about religious and ethnic tolerance in a country that claims to be the Muslim world's most moderate.

Facing Blasphemy Charges, Indonesian Politician 'Happy That History Chose Me'

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This wild hog from Hawaii was raised at the National Wildlife Research Center in Fort Collins, Colo. Feral pigs in the wild tend to eat anything containing a calorie — from rows of corn to sea turtle eggs, to baby deer and goats. Rae Ellen Bichell/NPR hide caption

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Rae Ellen Bichell/NPR

The Salt

Scientists Get Down And Dirty With DNA To Track Wild Pigs

Wild hogs inflict $1.5 billion in damage on U.S. property each year. But biologists can now track the elusive animals via tiny bits of DNA the swine leave behind in puddles and ponds.

Scientists Get Down And Dirty With DNA To Track Wild Pigs

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Former detainee Omar al-Shogre before his arrest and shortly after his release from Saydnaya Military Prison in Syria. Courtesy of Amnesty International hide caption

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Courtesy of Amnesty International

The Two-Way - News Blog

Amnesty International Reports Organized Murder Of Detainees In Syrian Prison

A new report alleges there is a calculated campaign to round up, torture and murder people allegedly opposed to the Assad regime. Amnesty estimates 5,000 to 13,000 people executed from 2011 to 2015.

Betsy Jenson sorts through donated kitchenware, bed sheets and other household goods inside a storage area for the Nationalities Service Center in Philadelphia. The refugee resettlement agency uses donations to furnish apartments for newly arrived refugees. Hansi Lo Wang/NPR hide caption

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Hansi Lo Wang/NPR

Around the Nation

Resettlement Groups Glad For Stay Of Trump's Refugee Plan, But Still Worried

Refugees and resettlement agencies around the U.S. are facing uncertainty as the courts decide what happens to the U.S. refugee program, but donations for refugees are piling up as agencies wait.

Resettlement Groups Glad For Stay Of Trump's Refugee Plan, But Still Worried

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The elderly lungfish had been in Chicago since the 1933 World's Fair. Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez/Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez hide caption

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Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez/Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez

The Two-Way - News Blog

'Iconic' and 'Loveable': Remembering An Elderly Lungfish Named 'Granddad'

Chicago's Shedd Aquarium released an obituary of more than 1,000 words for the recently departed 4-foot-long fish. It had arrived before the 1933 World's Fair, and was seen by some 104 million guests.

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All Tech Considered

Cryptoparties Teach Attendees How To Stay Anonymous Online

In these days of cyber intrigue, journalists, activists and ordinary citizens are interested in learning how to navigate the Internet anonymously. At cryptoparties, they learn how to do just that.

Cryptoparties Teach Attendees How To Stay Anonymous Online

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Outside Trump Tower in New York City, health care justice advocates and other grassroots groups gathered to demand that Trump not agree to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption

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Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Politics

The Theory That Explains The Anger Of Our Political Moment

One axiom can explain why Obamacare is gaining in popularity, why people are marching in the streets, even why Donald Trump won the presidency: relative deprivation.

During the 2016 presidential election, many rural communities supported and voted for then candidate Donald Trump. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images

Politics

Rural America Supported Trump; Will His Policies Support Their Communities?

North State Public Radio

Donald Trump won the White House with huge backing from small-town America and those who felt left behind. Now that he's president, can Trump help them for the next four years and beyond?

Rural America Supported Trump But Will His Policies Support Them?

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